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Monday, August 19, 2013

Triple Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Guys, I'm really sorry. I'm really really sorry. Not only have I been holding out on this fabulous and rich and creamy and dreamy and amazing ice cream, but I also had the nerve of Instagramming a teaser photo FOUR days ago, and since then, I just have not had the time to sit down and write up the post to share the recipe with you. Shame on me. What was I thinking, sharing a teaser photo for Triple Peanut Butter Ice Cream without having a post ready to go and publish the next day? Seriously guys, that won't happen again. A recipe for an ice cream this delicious needs to be shared ASAP!

I've been pretty busy lately, hence the lack of ice cream recipe sharing on my part. Between applying for jobs, updating my portfolio, work, and fitting in my daily workouts, I haven't had much time left over to just sit and write. This, combined with the fact that things at my house this past week, and especially this weekend, were a little circus overloaded has made for a pretty hectic past couple of weeks. If you don't know what circus I'm referring to, definitely check out my last two Instagram photos, and it'll all make sense. My baby cousin's first birthday party was yesterday, and my mom was once again in charge of the cake, and once again, she totally delivered an amazing and utterly adorable circus themed cake, complete with tiny fondant circus animals, hand-crafted by my sister, streamers, and caramel corn. It was the circus cake to end all circus cakes! If you don't have Instagram, a photo of the cake can also be seen on my Facebook page. I'll make sure to post some more detailed photos of the cake in a small post this week! BUT ANYWAY. I keep getting sidetracked and further delaying any talk about this Triple Peanut Butter Ice Cream. Seriously, what is wrong with me!?

This ice cream might be one of my favorite ice creams that I've made to date, which is a little surprising, because while I really do like peanut butter, it's definitely not one of my favorite flavors, in ice cream, or in general. This ice cream, however, was extra special. I just kept finding myself opening my freezer and sneaking a small spoonful almost every time I went into my kitchen for whatever reason...and then I found myself opening my freezer and sneaking a small spoonful without having any real reason to be in my kitchen at all. This peanut butter ice cream, with its rich and creamy peanut butter base, its thick peanut butter swirl, and its giant, scattered clumps of sweet and nutty peanut butter patties were just too much to handle...and I mean that in the best possible way. This ice cream was seriously good!

I think it's safe to say that by now, I've become very, very comfortable with making custard-based ice creams, and I don't even have to give new recipes a second thought. I used to be intimidated by the thought of making a custard-based ice cream, mostly because the idea of accidentally ending up with a batch of vanilla-flavored scrambled eggs terrified me, but after just a few attempts (and a few not-so-good batches of ice cream), I really got the hang of it. I have two solid pieces of advice for anyone who is new to ice-cream making or is still feeling a little unsure about their ice cream-making abilities. First, make sure you whisk your egg yolks really, really well. They should end up being a very pale yellow color, and fall in ribbons when you lift your whisk from the bowl. Second, add the warm milk mixture to the egg yolks very, very, very slowly, and make sure to never ever stop whisking. When I say slowly and never stop whisking, I mean it. It usually takes me a couple of minutes to add all of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks, and the entire time, I keep my whisk moving in the bowl. It's easiest to add the milk gradually if you heat it up in a saucepan with a long handle; I think you can get more control over the rate at which you pour in the hot milk this way, rather than if you use a pot with short handles. These are two tips that I always follow when making ice cream, and I have always gotten perfectly creamy and delicious results.

This triple peanut butter ice cream is a peanut butter lover's dream come true. My sister loves peanut butter and ice cream, and was especially excited about this creation. She is normally disappointed with peanut butter ice cream because it's usually made with a chocolate base and a peanut butter swirl, and she (somehow) doesn't like chocolate ice cream, but since this version is peanut butter all the way, she loved it. I think that next time, I would love to add honey roasted peanuts, or a peanut praline of some sort to give the ice cream a little bit of crunch. I like my ice cream with a little chocolate syrup, but I think adding hot fudge on top would be delicious, and pairing the ice cream with bananas would be outstanding! As the recipe is now, however, it's a perfectly rich, creamy, and nutty dessert or midnight snack (as in my case). If you love peanut butter, then this is the ice cream for you!

In the meantime, pour the remaining cream into a bowl, and set a fine mesh sieve over the bowl. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks until they are smooth and pale yellow. Very slowly begin to add the warmed milk-peanut butter mixture into the egg yolks in a steady and gradual stream, making sure to whisk constantly. You must add the milk slowly to prevent the egg yolks from scrambling! Once all of the milk-peanut butter mixture has been added, return the mixture back to the saucepan.Set the saucepan over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir, until the mixture thickens considerably and can coat the back of the wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Pour the thick custard through the fine-mesh sieve and into the cream. Stir to combine, and then add in the vanilla extract. Set this bowl in an ice bath, and stir occasionally until the mixture has cooled down to about room temperature. Cover the bowl of custard with plastic wrap, and allow it to chill in the fridge until it is completely chilled, at least 8 hours, but preferably overnight.

While the custard is chilling, prepare the peanut butter patties. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter and powdered sugar, stirring until the mixture comes together. Pinch off small pieces of the mixture and place the patties on a plate lined with waxed paper. They don't need to be perfect spheres or anything like that, just pinches will do! Refrigerate or freeze the patties on the plate until they become firm, and then transfer them to a freezer-safe container and store in the freezer until ready to use.

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. As you transfer the ice cream from the freezer bowl to a freezer-safe container, drop dallops of the melted peanut butter and peanut butter patties over the layers of ice cream.

Once the ice cream has been completely layered, swirl the ice cream with a butter knife. Store the ice cream in the freezer for a few hours to harden, and enjoy!